SBSA CONFERENCE
(December 2000) The Small Boarding Schools Association (SBSA) will hold its 15th annual conference at Blue Ridge School March 15-17, 2001. The SBSA serves as a forum for boarding schools with an enrollment of 200 or less. Information can be obtained from Keith Corlew at 440-275-2811.

EAGALA AT 310 MEMBERS
(November 2000) Greg Kersten, of the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), Santaquin, Utah, 877-858-4600, equine@eagala.org, reports there are now 310 members in the association, including 52 organizational members. He also announced their second annual conference will be March 15-17 in Amarillo, Texas.

CHRYSALIS IMPROVEMENTS
(December 2000) Mary Alexine and Kenny Pannell, of Chrysalis, 406-889-5577, a small all-girls program in Eureka, Montana, reported in an end of the year letter, that over the last year they completed a new guest cabin, and added five acres to their property to accommodate their horses, which increased from three to six. The trip many of the girls took to Yucatan, Mexico was considered a smashing success, and the Glacier National Park Service raved over the way the girls cleared several miles of trail along beautiful Bowman Lake in the Park’s remote northwest corner.

ASPEN RANCH ADMISSIONS MOVES AGAIN
(December 11, 2001) Kreg Gillman, Executive Dir. of Aspen Ranch, Loa, Utah, 877-231-0734, announced the Ranch’s Admissions Department is moving out of the town of Loa, Utah and will instead be housed on the Ranch. Becky Brown will be the new Admissions director, and Linda Summers will be an Admissions counselor.

HOPPER AND IRVIN FEATURED IN WASH. POST
(December 14, 2000) Independent Educational Consultants Ethna Hopper, Wash. D.C., 202-333-3530, and Georgia Irvin, Chevy Chase, Maryland, 301-951-0131, were featured in an article in the Washington Post entitled: “Teacher Says: Put Wild child in the Woods.” Several programs were mentioned positively including CEDU’s Ascent in North Idaho and Alldredge Academy in West Virginia.

SENTENCED TO NATURE
(December 17, 2000) Writer Charles Siebert, writing for the New York Times Magazine, in the article “Sentenced to Nature” reports on his trip to Redcliff Ascent in Utah to follow up national news stories about several youth who had run away from the program some months ago. He wanted to see what the program was about. Sounding like a city-dweller who doesn’t really understand either the life of these teens before being enrolled at Redcliff Ascent, or life in wilderness areas, he describes some of his observations without shedding much light on changes the young people go through or how it is done.

SOLTREKS PLANNED 30-DAY TREKS
(December 18, 2000) Lorri Hanna and Doug Sabo, owners and operators of Soltreks, an Emotional Growth wilderness program headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota, 218-525- 5803, soltreks@cpinternet.com, announced they still have openings in their 30 day Assessment Treks in the Southwest from January 18 to February 16, and from March 1 to March 30.

THERAPIST FOR OBSIDIAN TRAILS
(December 20, 2000) Scott Bandoroff, of Obsidian Trails Outdoor School, Bend Oregon, a 60-90 day wilderness therapy program, 888-808-9688, announced they are looking for a masters level therapist.

WILDERNESS FOR AUTISM & ASPERGER’S
(December 20, 2000) Laura McManus, Director of the SIGHT program, part of Talisman, 828-669-8639, in Black Mountain, North Carolina, announced their plans for a wilderness program. Scheduled from May 15-27, 2001, it will be a time when “children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and Asperger’s syndrome can work on personal growth and individual goals in a natural wilderness atmosphere.”

EXPERIENCED CLINICIAN OPENING
(December 26, 2000) Larry Stednitz, director of Alternative Youth Adventures (AYA) in Helena, Montana, 406-443-8579, is looking for experienced clinicians with backcountry experience for its Boulder, Montana program. AYA is a three-month program that incorporates a month- long assessment period prior to allowing the youth to enter the two-month backcountry phase. Entry-level residential positions are open as well.

CERTIFICATIONS AT WILDERNESS QUEST
(December 29, 2000) Wilderness Quest’s Ramon Palosios, LSAC, Substance Abuse counselor and Larry Wells, LSAC, CAC, Program Director, recently completed certification as Red Cross CPR, First Aid and Blood Born Pathogen Instructors. Larry is also a certified Instructor on Non-Violent Physical Crisis Intervention for the Crisis Prevention Institute. This now allows Wilderness Quest to keep staff certifications current through in-house training. Wilderness Quest is located in Monticello, Utah, 435-587-2801.

PARENT SUPPORT GROUP
(January 2, 2001) Denise Westman, marketing for Provo Canyon School, 619-588-7499, Provo, Utah, announced the creation of two new Parent Support Groups located in San Diego and Seattle, in addition to the seven already existing throughout the country. These groups help provide weekly family therapy and additional support to parents whose children are in Provo Canyon School.

SUWS OF THE CAROLINAS ADMISSIONS
(January 4, 2001) Reid Treadaway, Admissions Director for SUWS of the Carolinas, is now located at Old Fort, North Carolina, 888-828-9770.

NEW ADMISSIONS AT CROSS CREEK MANOR
(January 4, 2001) Karr Farnsworth, Director of Cross Creek Manor, LaVerkin, Utah, 801- 635-2300, announced Jeni Salmi will be handling admissions for the school replacing Marie Peart.

EXPLORATIONS WEB SITE
(January 5, 2001) Penny and Lorne Riddell, of Explorations, Trout Creek, Montana, 406-827-3863, announced they have a new web site.

ANY WORD OF TIM & JENNIFER SMITH?
(January 5, 2001) Does anyone know the whereabouts of Tim & Jennifer Smith? Woodbury Reports Inc. has been unable to contact them by phone, and letters to all known addresses have been returned with no forwarding address.

LOCAL RESOURCES DIRECTORY ONLINE
(January 5, 2001) As the newest addition to Woodbury Reports Online, the Local Resources Directory, is an ambitious project to list as many resources for parents of struggling teens online as possible. Starting with 1,000 resources, the Directory is designed to cover a wide range of resources parents can call on to help their children. It includes day schools for children with Learning Differences, Learning Centers, specialized treatment programs, adolescent psych units, adolescent counselors and therapists, parent support groups and many other categories. A sophisticated search engine is included that can bring up lists of schools and programs for a variety of behaviors, diagnoses and geographic locations. Suggestions for resources that should be included will be very much appreciated and can be easily entered online following simple instructions. Suggestions for making the categorization scheme more useful are welcome. The Local Resources Directory is a useful tool for anyone working with children with problems. As it grows it will increase in value to all of us.

CATHERINE FREER RECEIVES FULL JCAHO ACCREDITATION
(January 9, 2001) Shirley Rex, Admissions Director of Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Expeditions (541-926-7252) in Albany, Oregon, reported that their provisional JCAHO accreditation has just been upgraded to the status of full accreditation. The Catherine Freer program conducts a three week expedition that blends wilderness expeditions with traditional psychotherapy techniques and a modified 12-step program.